Author: KMAN Staff
A Manhattan man charged with the murder of a veteran pleaded ‘not guilty’ inside Riley County District Court on Monday. 24-year old Justin Taylor, of the 600 block of Vattier Street, was arrested in connection with the August 11th death of 31-year old Kevin Lynn Cockrum. The two were involved in an early-morning altercation near the 1000 block of Moro Street. Taylor allegedly struck Cockrum in the head several times with a flashlight during the fight. Cockrum died from the wounds hours later. The case is set to go to trial at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 31. If convicted, Taylor could face…
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) The body of a 25-year-old man has been found southwest of Great Bend. Barton County Sheriff Greg Armstrong told The Great Bend Tribune that hunters found the body of Great Bend resident Damon Galyardt on Saturday. Armstrong did not release the cause of death but said it’s under investigation.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A recent spate of earthquakes across the southern border in Oklahoma isn’t likely to change the way Kansas officials think about disasters that could strike the state. In fact, other than fog, no other hazardous event ranks lower on the state’s list of 22 potential threats than earthquakes. Tornadoes and flooding are on the top of the list, based on the frequency of such damaging events in Kansas. Emergency management officials say that despite the low priority of earthquakes on the hazard list, Kansas is prepared to respond to any event. That’s in part to the experience…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The 2011 Kansas State Fair was profitable, but some numbers fell below figures for 2009 and 2010. The Hutchinson News reports that the numbers from the fair’s board of directors show that total audited attendance for the 2011 fair came in at about 339,000. That was nearly 4.2 percent behind 2010, and only the fifth-best year in the past 10 years. The 2011 attendance was however better than the 10-year attendance average. Receipts for gate admission totaled about $1.2 million for the year. That’s off about $86,200, or about 6.5 percent, from 2010. Opening day attendance was…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Commerce is holding a two-day gathering this week for rural entrepreneurs and telecommunications professionals. The agency’s Rural Opportunities Conference takes place Wednesday and Thursday at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. Gov. Sam Brownback is scheduled to speak at the opening luncheon. The Commerce Department says the gathering will focus on expanding broadband access in rural Kansas and using the technology to help growing businesses. Other speakers include Don Macke, director of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Lincoln, Neb., and Ron Wilson of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Leaders of five Indian tribes plan to join Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback this week for a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the state’s admission to the union. The event is set for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Kansas State Historical Society in west Topeka. Participants will include leaders from the four tribes with reservations in Kansas the Iowa, the Kickapoo, the Prairie Band Potawatomi and the Sac and Fox. Also joining them will be representatives from the Kaw Nation, now based in northern Oklahoma. The Kaw were a prominent tribe in what became Kansas, but treaties…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The commemoration of Kansas’ 150th birthday will wrap up with a symposium discussing the state’s future. The Kansas in Question Symposium will be Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. Ted Ayers, vice president and lawyer for Wichita State University, says people in leadership positions from throughout the state are expected to attend. She says 88 of the 300 spots in the symposium were open as of late last week. The Wichita Eagle reports that groups at the symposium will discuss six areas: education, employment, the environment, health, rural Kansas and urban Kansas. Gov.…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Libraries across the state will be tracking their patrons on Tuesday in an effort to show how valuable libraries are to Kansans. The project is conducted by the Kansas Library Association, the Kansas Association of School Libraries and the State Library of Kansas. Patrons will be asked what library services they use and what makes the library important to them. Hutchinson Library Director Gregg Wamsley says the data compiled will help the State Library lobby lawmakers to assure funding for libraries. The Hutchinson News reports that data collected in last year’s snapshot found that in one day,…